


Right on Time

by WorryinglyInnocent



Category: Once Upon a Time (TV)
Genre: A Monthly Rumbelling, Broken curse, F/M, Fluff, Kittens, Storybrooke
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-07-24
Updated: 2018-07-24
Packaged: 2019-06-15 13:34:46
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,575
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/15414081
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/WorryinglyInnocent/pseuds/WorryinglyInnocent
Summary: Rumpelstiltskin is delayed for an important event, but Belle has some news that makes up for it.Written for the @a-monthly-rumbelling prompt: "I'm so sorry I'm late"





	Right on Time

“I’m so sorry I’m late.”

Belle had looked surprised when Rumpelstiltskin had first come into the room, but as soon as she saw the flowers in his hands, she gave her usual brilliant sunny smile.

“It’s all right,” she said. “I know that you intended to be here. What with everything else that’s going on at the moment, I think that you can be forgiven. I saw the Charmings coming into the shop to accost you when I was leaving the library earlier after I called you.”

“But I missed the birth!”

Belle looked down at the basket of still-damp kittens and their proud purring momma.

“I don’t think Ebony minds.”

Ebony narrowed her eyes at Rumpelstiltskin, then returned to licking her kittens clean.

“Still, I wanted to be here to give you a hand; you asked for my help and I was going to give it to you.”

“It’s all right.” Belle took the flowers from him. “You brought me flowers instead.”

“I figured that since I was already late, I wasn’t going to lose anything by stopping to pick them up, and it is a special occasion after all.”

“Yes. They’re the perfect bouquet to say, ‘congratulations on becoming a cat grandma.’”

Rumpelstiltskin just gave her an unimpressed look and Belle had to giggle.

“Let me go and put these in water and make some tea, and then you can meet the new additions to the family.”

She left the room, and Rumpelstiltskin sat down on the sofa, looking down at the kittens that were partially hidden under it. Perhaps now that they had been born, the identity of their father would come to light. When Belle had taken Ebony to the vets for a check-up, she had been rather surprised to find that what she thought was over-indulgence on prime chicken and fish table scraps was in fact kittens. Ebony was an indoor cat, and it made Rumpelstiltskin wonder which of the neighbourhood toms was brave enough to venture inside the pink house.

There were four kittens in total. Two were all black like their mother, one was a dark tabby, and the final one was mostly black but for the three white and one ginger sock.

“You know, I would really like to see what your father looked like to come out with such an interesting colour scheme,” he muttered.

“I think something went wrong with the dye job on that fourth one,” Belle observed as she came back in with the tea things on a tray. “It looks like he or she’s been dipped in paint pots.”

“I don’t think Ebony appreciates that description of her offspring,” Rumpelstiltskin observed, but the cat was too busy caring for her kittens to pay any attention to what the humans were saying. He smiled. “Well done, Ebony.”

She continued to purr like a foghorn, and Rumpelstiltskin thought through his long acquaintance with Ebony. She had come a long way since her first few days as a kitten in the Dark Castle when she had been causing havoc in his workroom, and Rumpelstiltskin liked to think that their relationship had mellowed somewhat since then. He had originally found her for Belle as a companion to keep her company when he was away on his deals, but in the end she had become a pet for the both of them, prone to sneaking up into Rumpelstiltskin’s lap and falling asleep there just when he was about to get up. He’d accepted his trousers being covered in cat hairs as par for the course now.

“So, how long do you think it will be before they’re running around, getting underfoot and generally causing chaos just like their mother did when she was young?” he asked Belle.

“Oh, not too long.” Belle chuckled. “Although I don’t think that we’ll have to deal with any juvenile delinquency for long. I’ve already had people expressing an interest in adopting them once they’re old enough to leave Ebony. Regina was thinking about getting a pet for Henry, you know, a responsibility thing, but I think that deep down it’s more for herself to keep her company when Henry is staying with Neal and Emma.”

“Well, cats do make excellent companions,” Rumpelstiltskin said.

“I know. Ebony was certainly a wonderful one for me when you were away travelling.”

Rumpelstiltskin smiled at the memory of returning home late one night after a deal and finding Belle and her pet curled up together on the chaise in the main room, the fire long since having died out but Ebony keeping Belle’s feet warm nonetheless.

“I think that Regina’s more of a cat person than a dog person,” Belle mused. “I think it’s the regal bearing coming out. I just can’t see her with a dog.” She looked at Rumpelstiltskin critically. “Mind you, I always had you down as a dog person and here we are.”

“It is possible to like both cats and dogs,” Rumpelstiltskin pointed out. “I’m sure that there are plenty of households that have both as pets.” He paused. “I was always a dog person. I spent most of my life before the Dark One around sheepdogs. It was a little strange when Ebony became part of the furniture in the Dark Castle, but now that she’s here, I can’t really imagine life without her.”

He had experienced life without her. He had experienced life without both her and Belle, when he had woken from the curse with Emma’s arrival to find that Belle was living alone with her cat in a tiny house on the edge of town, afraid to leave her home and so far removed from the strong and impulsively brave young woman he had fallen in love with back in the Enchanted Forest.

Now though, the curse was broken, the town was finally at peace, Rumpelstiltskin had been reunited with his son at long last, and Belle and Ebony were here in his house where they belonged. They were his family.

He looked over at the kittens again. He knew that they could not keep all of them, it would be impractical although they definitely had the space. Ebony might have learned not to get into Rumpelstiltskin’s magic, but the kittens would have to be taught the same, and with four of them, it was going to be a hard task to keep track of all the little paws that might get into what they shouldn’t.

“So what did the Charmings want?” Belle asked.

Rumpelstiltskin laughed. “Oh dear. I’m not actually sure if I should tell you.”

Belle raised an eyebrow. “Ok…”

“Let’s just say that it was a rather awkward conversation for all involved and if they’d actually got to the point instead of beating around the bush for ten minutes, I might have got home in time to help you with the kittens.”

“Ok, now you have to tell me. You know that you can trust me not to tell anyone else. I’m a paragon of discretion.”

“Well, let’s just say that since the curse has been broken and since we’ve had lasting peace for almost a year now, Snow White and her prince have hit something of a dry spell in their marriage, and they were wondering if I stocked any sort of tonics that would assist with that.”

Belle looked shocked for a second before bursting out laughing.

“Oh dear,” she said once she had finally managed to compose herself. “They really must be desperate if they’re coming to you for advice.”

“Well, I think that they were hoping that I would have some kind of magical cure for all their problems.”

“Did you?”

“No, but I did give them some friendly advice, and we all agreed to never mention the conversation ever again. I think it’s probably best if it stays that way.”

Belle was quiet for a long time, occasionally breaking out into a little giggle. Rumpelstiltskin could see the blush rising in her cheeks and spreading down over her neck and chest, and he could tell what she was thinking. Despite them having been together for over a year now, things were definitely not showing any signs of getting stale or dry in their relationship.

Finally, she looked over at him, putting down her teacup.

“Rumpel,” she began, “I wasn’t going to mention this so soon, but now seems like the right time.”

Rumpelstiltskin raised his eyebrows. “What is it? Is something wrong?”

“Oh no, not at all. It’s just that with Ebony’s kittens and with what you were saying about Snow and Charming, I thought that I would tell you my news.”

“Belle, what’s going on?”

“Well, you can make up for missing this birth by being on time for the next one in seven months’ time.”

Rumpelstiltskin just stared at her, dumbstruck.

“You’re…”

Belle nodded, taking his hand and pressing it over her belly. “I’m pregnant, Rumpel.”

“When… How…?”

“Well, ironically enough, I first thought I might be when I was late.” Belle leaned over and kissed his astonished mouth, giving a murmur of appreciation when he returned it whole-heartedly. “As for the how, well, I think you can fill in that gap with your imagination.”

“Oh Belle… That’s wonderful news.”

He pulled her in close, kissing her again, and from her basket Ebony gave a soft mew of approval. Their already expanding family was going to get even bigger, and they couldn’t be happier about it.

 


End file.
